COMTO salutes the best in Austin transportation

There will be many familiar faces in the crowd at the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Austin Chapter’s Inaugural Transportation Awards this Friday. Since Capital Metro’s the public transportation provider, it’s no surprise that in addition to our own winners, so many others on the list have a connection to us.

First, let’s start at the top. Capital Metro Board Member Beverly Silas’ day job (our board members serve on a volunteer basis) is running Beverly Silas and Associates, a public involvement/public affairs consulting firm. COMTO selected her firm as the Women Owned Business of the Year.

Linda S. Watson, Capital Metro’s president/CEO, is co-winner of the Executive of the Year award. Here’s an excerpt from Linda’s nomination:

Since the moment Linda S. Watson walked in the door as president/CEO of Capital Metro in 2010, her goal has been to raise the bar and transform the agency into the valuable and highly-respected public service that the community deserves.

Watson made organizational changes, developed a strong executive leadership team, improved business practices and lead the development of a new strategic plan that provides guidance, oversight and accountability for every decision Capital Metro makes.

The COMTO nomination committee must have had a hard time deciding this category. Linda will share the award with Bobby Stone who’s the executive director of UT’s Parking and Transportation Services. That still keeps the award in the Capital Metro extended family since we work closely with Bobby and his staff on UT Shuttle matters.

Speaking of the UT Shuttle, COMTO picked First Transit as the Large Business of the Year. First Transit’s the Capital Metro contractor responsible for operating the UT Shuttle system.

COMTO’s choice for Small Business of the Year is Dadnab, a handy tool that lets you get next bus schedule information for Capital Metro (and several other systems across the country) via text message.

Congratulations to all the winners. Here’s the complete list:

Small Business of the Year – Dadnab

Large Business of the Year – First Transit

Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) of the Year – Jah Love, Inc.

Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) of the Year – CAS Consulting & Services Inc.

Women Owned Business of the Year – Beverly Silas & Associates

Transportation Agency of the Year – City of Austin Transportation Department